Little Red Ruby Hood and the Big Bad Wolf
by PhaedrahMaeve
Summary: Scarlett had always been warned against the violent and murdering wolf that lived deep in the woods, but never thought that one day she would come face to face with the beast or ever stare at it long enough to see the pain in it's eyes.
1. Waiting in the Dark

**Little Red Ruby Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.**

**Summary: **Scarlett had always been warned of a violent and murdering wolf that lived in the very same woods that she travelled through each day on her way back to her Granny's house, but she had never imagined that one day she would come face to face with the beast. Age old stories of interactions with the fated big bad wolf had taught her to be scared of the creature and what it could do to young girls like her, but a soft look of pain in the eyes of her unwilling attacker made the young girl wonder if there was more to the old tales of the big bad wolf than anyone could ever figure.  
><strong>Pairings are Emma x Graham, and Mary Margaret x David, but mostly Ruby x OC.<strong>

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters affiliated.  
><strong>Rating is PG-13 for language, violence and a little sexuality.<strong>

**Authors Note:** Hello all! This is not my first fanfic on here, but it is my first after about a three year hiatus of writing regularly, so I am back with a brand new name and a fresh start. I've wanted to write this since I saw Meghan Ory played Ruby, she is one of my favourite actresses, so finally I sat down and took a whack at the idea I had for Little Red Ruby Hood. (Which in the fairytale world will be named Scarlett, I know it's been used before by lots of people but it was the best moniker I saw so I apologise for lack of creativity.) I will warn beforehand that this story will include femslash, not of Emma or the main characters but by as you probably guessed Ruby, so I hope that nobody is too bothered by it. I hope that everyone will enjoy!  
><strong>Spoilers include most canon plot points up until 1x07 "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter."<strong>

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><p><em><strong>Inside the Enchanted Forest.<strong>_

"Just who does she think she is?" A grumbling voice could be heard from deep within the woods. Minor cursing and yelps of pain accompanied the clear snarl the young woman had in her throat as she ranted to herself about everything from her Grandmother's strict rules to the state of the path she was taking.

This was not the first time Scarlett had had a complaint about some law her Granny had told her to obey, and it was certainly not the first time that she had purposefully broken the rules only to complain about the consequences after it was too late to fix her mistakes. It would also turn out to not be the last time she fought authority, either. But as her final broken rule had not even been written yet, this was definitely the stupidest time she had failed to listen to instruction.

Which is exactly what brought her to the situation she was currently in ; three hours past her curfew, caked in about a layer of mud, covered with scratches and cuts that she would fuss over later as she made herself look pretty for the baker's son and one hundred percent completely, utterly lost.

"Why did she even tell me about the second path in the first place?" Scarlett complained to herself again, more to fill the silent air with a comforting sound rather than actually being upset. "She knows I'm going to want to take it, even if it's dangerous!" Letting out a huff of air in frustration that fluttered a couple of black hairs out of her face, she slumped back on a stump to give herself a moment to think.

It took Scarlett to abandon her thought process and concentrate on how scratched up her hands, more specifically her nails, were getting, before she noticed anything odd about where she had decided to sit.

The conveniently placed stump she was resting on caught her attention first as she realised it had a back to it rather than just being flat across. Somewhat in delight, she let herself lean back against the wood, her back was rather sore. Despite needing a minute to notice the stump malformation, it took nearly seconds for her to realise that stumps did not naturally shape like that, nor did someone cut it down in that way without them planning on using it like furniture, eventually. Finally, she dared to look around.

She was in someone's camp. Scarlett had never personally been in one, but it was familiar to the small little areas she sometimes found in the forest with tents set up and a fire being built. Only this camp was vastly different from any other one that she had ever come in contact with. It wasn't as neat or tidy as the others and an unmistakeable stench of death crept in through the trees carried on the wind.

"... Is anyone there?" Scarlett whisper-called, afraid to get any louder for fear that whoever it was that owned the camp was the reason behind the dead smell, or that whatever that was the real reason for the smell might still be lurking in the nearby bushes ready to attack at any sign of life.

Mere moments after her attempt to find out the truth, a lone howl cut through the air and left Scarlett frozen in her tracks, her heart pounding with fear and recognition. She knew that there were rumours of a wolf in these parts of the woods but never imagined that the rumours were anything more than parents trying to keep their children away from the forest. Naturally, hearing proof of what she had enthusiastically argued as false stories shook her to her very core and made her head swim with fear.

As the second howl exploded into the night sky, Scarlett jumped up from the stump and looked around the camp quickly. She hoped to god that the rotting and decaying smell that had filled her nose for the past ten minutes wasn't linked in any way to the noises she was hearing, and she hoped to god that she just had really good hearing and the creature was half a forest away from her instead of just a few feet.

Unfortunately, Scarlett knew from years of her Granny telling her that she didn't know how to listen and that she had worse hearing than a deaf duck when it came to certain things... the wolf had to be close.

Panning her head from side to side hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone, even the wolf to figure out how far away from safety she was, Scarlett took a couple of small steps towards the confusing and twisting maze-like path that had taken her from the edge of the forest to here. If she could run for it and remember which way she had gone, she could run for the village and hole up there until the wolf left.

Almost as if it sensed what she was about to try, the moment she stepped towards the path, a deep growl shook the trees. Scarlett knew it had to be close now and decided she had to take her chances.

Breaking into a run that would have made her athletically-concentrated deceased father proud, she all but sprinted to the path and ran her way down it as fast as she could. Scarlett didn't dare stop for even a second to check if she was being followed, certain that the farther she ran the safer she would become.

Reaching the little fork in the path that had confused her the first time she had come across it and feeling seemingly safe at the time being and exhausted beyond all belief, the black-haired teenager slowed down for a second to catch her breath, think about which way to go, and lean against a tree so she could feel safe and supported while she figured out her dangerous predicament.

Mere moments after she stopped running, another loud growl was heard, this time from somewhere close behind her. Scarlett spun around in fear that the wolf could be sneaking up behind her tree in order to catch her by surprise, she had always heard they were smart and at first she hadn't believed it... She hadn't believed any of it, but since wolves in these woods existed, the other rumours must be true.

Confident that it wasn't sneaking up behind her, Scarlett turned to get started back on the path when she came face to face with the wolf and let out a scream that travelled all the way to the village.

Feeling a little sick to her stomach that she had clearly walked right into its plan, she cursed to herself for being so stupid to turn around long enough for it to get ahead of her and trap her against the tree. She wanted to both kick herself and begin crying as it started to pace back in forth, it's eyes never leaving her face. The wolf didn't look much bigger than ordinary wolves, but the look of hunger and manipulation in its eyes made her feel like it was vastly different from the others... more dangerous.

Whimpering just slightly as a final growl escaped its throat, Scarlett feebly held her hands up trying to protect herself from its teeth and claws as the wolf made up its mind, hunched back and pounced.

* * *

><p>And thus I end the first story I've worked on of three years on a cliffhanger, I've got guts don't I? I apologise for both the length and the spellinggrammar. I usually do about two checks on whatever I write to make sure that it's up to my best standards but since I really wanted this to be up for the new episode, I've had to sacrifice on the normal length I usually like my chapters to be (fifteen hundred) and I could only do one quality check for this chapter.

**I hope that you all will want to keep reading as I continue onto the second chapter of "Little Red Ruby Hood and the Big Bad Wolf."**


	2. Coffee, Tea or Me?

**Little Red Ruby Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.**

**Summary: **Scarlett had always been warned of a violent and murdering wolf that lived in the very same woods that she travelled through each day on her way back to her Granny's house, but she had never imagined that one day she would come face to face with the beast. Age old stories of interactions with the fated big bad wolf had taught her to be scared of the creature and what it could do to young girls like her, but a soft look of pain in the eyes of her unwilling attacker made the young girl wonder if there was more to the old tales of the big bad wolf than anyone could ever figure.  
><strong>Pairings are Emma x Graham, and Mary Margaret x David, but mostly Ruby x OC.<strong>

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters affiliated.  
><strong>Rating is PG-13 for language, violence and a little sexuality.<strong>

**Authors Note:** I apologise for the wait, I didn't realise when I posted this on Sunday that I had a school project due only a few days later that would take up the bulk of my time. But I am back now, even though I have more schoolwork to be done, just this was so cute it had to be written as soon as possible. This is going to be the chapter that you are introduced to Ruby's love interest, so I hope you are all prepared for extreme and adorable fluff without it going over the top. I also hope that story Ruby is believable, I tried to write my story the best I could while maintaining her rebel image.  
><strong>Spoilers include most canon plot points up until 1x07 "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter."<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Inside Granny's Diner.<strong>

"And a hot cocoa with a dash of cinnamon for Henry." Ruby gave a smile as the young boy thanked her for the drink. Most children didn't even get a glance of acknowledgement from the rebellious-looking teen, let alone a smile, but then again Henry was a different kind of child.

When he showed his gratitude for her it wasn't because someone told him to or because it was the polite thing to do, Henry showed it because he actually felt grateful that she was looking out for him. That's what Ruby liked about the ten year old, he knew when he had something good. Not to mention that he was a sweet, caring, and creative kid that would protect his friends to the death if need be.

It was safe to say that Ruby loved Henry.

For that fact and fact alone, she found herself appreciative when Emma Swan decided to stick around to be there for Henry. Before she had known the woman, a deep hatred had emerged on the notion that someone could give the boy up willingly, especially since her own Mother had done that to her years ago. Fortunately, Emma was making up for it in how she treated Henry these days.

It was that reason that compelled her to add extra cinnamon to Emma's hot cocoa as well.

That... and the practically identical expressions on their faces as they took a long sip of the delicious beverage that concluded with a mutually appreciative and repeated. "Thank-you Ruby!"

Henry and Emma gave a small wave as they waited for their slightly redheaded waitress to disappear into the backroom of the diner to collect something for a customer before they started to converge their newest ideas and information on Operation Cobra.

A topic which basically consisted of Henry rambling on excitedly about ways they could help people remember who they were as Emma watched with a pleasantly maternal look in her eye.

"And so the creature that was stalking her in the woods happened to be the wolf! Which leads to a whole new story in the book, but it made Scarlett who she was." As Henry retold the story in his book, his actions grew wider and more outgoing until he stopped suddenly in mid-pose, suddenly very aware of the people watching him amused, his Mother included. "I've got it." He whispered.

"We can reunite Ruby with the wolf! That'll help her remember who she is really."

Emma paused for a moment, Henry's plans didn't always work out if she recalled about Mary Margaret and David, she didn't want Ruby to get hurt in any way over her sons ideas. "And just who is the wolf, kid?" She threw him a smirk to hide her conflict while thinking about who Henry could think was supposed to be the wolf. "Is it Jeff Baker?" If she remembered anything about being a teenager, it was how all the high school girls were supposed to be in love with their schools quarterback.

"Well, let's just say..." Henry stalled for a moment before a single word escaped his lips. "Lyra!"

Searching her mind for any memories of a Lyra that she was supposed to have met, Emma came up with nobody that she could remember and blurted out a brash. "Who the heck is Lyr-" Before she could even get her sentence out, she watched as Henry jumped up from the booth and ran past her.

Confused as anything, Emma turned her head in time to see Henry practically tackle a blonde teenager entering Granny's at full force. Preparing to stand up and rescue the girl from her son's grasp, the older blonde was surprised to see as the girl, Lyra, caught him with one arm and pulled him in for a big hug.

Watching again as Henry grabbed the teenager's hand and all but dragged her over to the table, Emma felt her heart swell with pride as the ten year old politely gestured for Lyra to sit before running to the other side to squeeze in with his Mother. "Hello." Emma offered kindly as she looked at the stranger.

"Hi! You must be Henry's Mom... He's told me so much about you!" The girl was sweet, Emma had to give her that and much like Ruby, she seemed to actually care about her son, she did appreciate that he had some people in this town that cared about his happiness.

"You must be Lyra, I'd love to say the same, but Henry hasn't said anything about you." Emma smirked at her son with a fake accusatory glance before looking back at the girl. She seemed nice enough.

In an instant her mind ran through all the fairy tales she knew to try to place the girl. She had gone through everyone from Rapunzel to Thumbelina before she realised she was staring.

Forcing a fake smile as Henry went on about how much he had missed Lyra and how she used to babysit him occasionally, Emma cursed to herself for getting so caught up in his idea about the curse. She was supposed to be the adult here. But so much had happened that she was starting to believe his ideas.

"Want to join us Lyra?" Emma was thrown out of her thinking by the kid's high-pitched voice inviting his friend to stay. A pang of jealousy rang through her for a moment, but just a moment, she thought they were supposed to be having a just the two of them thing, sort of like bonding time.

Lyra just looked at Emma. "As long as your Mom doesn't mind."

The blonde teenager could tell when she looked at Emma that the older woman clearly wanted to spend time alone with her son, alone being the important part. Which is why she was surprised when the woman answered with an enthusiastic. "If you'd like to, I don't see why not!" She had to give his Mother due credit on looking out for what would be the most enjoyable afternoon for him.

Although Lyra didn't think he'd really complain to some alone time with her, either.

"Great! I'll just go up and get myself a cocoa. We'll be hot chocolate buddies." That at least gave them some time to get plans for another alone day together, plus she'd rather head to the counter to order than order her drink at the table. At least one way gave her some privacy to talk with Ruby.

Heading up to the counter was easier to do than Lyra expected, although Ruby wasn't back yet and that probably had something to do with it. Drumming her fingers on the counter top as she waited, Lyra felt her heart beat a little faster in anticipation, she hadn't seen the other girl in what seemed like forever.

Minutes passed before the tell-tale clink of the brunette teenagers heels on the floor, Lyra looked up from inspecting her fingernails distractedly, coming face to face with a very surprised and shocked Ruby.

"Hi." Lyra offered weakly as she felt the breath stolen from her lungs.

Ruby just nodded her head and mouthed for Lyra to give her a second, before slinking down to the floor, her hands coming up to fix her hair and make-up. She had always worried about not looking her best.

Especially in front of Lyra of all people.

"Uhm, Ruby..." Lyra started off, peering over top of the counter with a worried look over her pale face as she stared at the girl on the floor. "What are you doing down there?"

"Looking for my contact!" Ruby lied through her teeth without thinking, with how long the two had known each other, they knew every fact about the other. She was desperate though, it had been an awfully long time since the two friends had gotten together for even a moment and it would be lying to say that there still wasn't some unresolved feelings that they had to sort out.

Unresolved feelings that were left better sorted out in private, just neither girl knew how to approach the subject without it feeling uncomfortable or look odd. Nobody was supposed to know about them.

The worried look on Lyra's face gave way into a shy smirk. "You don't wear glasses."

"That must be why it's so hard to find." Ruby quipped back quickly as she used the counter to pull herself back onto her feet and look at the blonde directly. "Hi." She grinned.

"Hi." Lyra repeated herself softly, her mind completely void of what she was even up at the counter for to begin with. Looking past Ruby at the colourful and cheerful chalk menu mounted behind the waitress, she remembered but just barely. "I-uh, I'm... I-" What did she even want?

"What can I get for you?" Ruby nudged her carefully towards what she was trying to say, sensing the clear shyness in her close friends voice. "Coffee, Cocoa, Me-" Ruby paused, screwing up her words just as bad as Lyra had, if not worse since people actually seemed to pay attention to when she spoke.

Lyra just stared for a second, her mouth dropping open in response. "Wh-what was that last one?"

"Tea!" Ruby all but shouted, as she reached feebly for the kettle resting underneath the counter and pulling it up to show the entire diner who were still staring. "I asked if I could get you some tea?"

As Henry burst into silent giggles beside her, Emma took on a concerned look and glanced over at her son who was still watching the two girls with clear amusement in his eyes and if she could count her intuitions right, a look of sheer happiness at the exchange that was going on.

"Henry... Who is Lyra supposed to be?" Emma asked him a tad bit alarmed as the two girls tried to look everywhere but each other. She had an idea in her mind but still felt her stomach drop as he confirmed.

"She's the wolf!"

* * *

><p>Alright. So that may have been a little over the top in adorableness, I couldn't help myself after I got started with it. I know that Ruby is pretty out of character, I will admit that, but I hope that she isn't too far out of character that anyone gets upset. It also really did not solve the cliffhanger, but I figure that since she is in the show, everyone will be able to infer that she did not die in fairytale world. I hope that everyone enjoys.<p>

**Stay tuned for the third chapter of "Little Red Ruby Hood and the Big Bad Wolf."**


	3. An Unexpected Truth

**Little Red Ruby Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.**

**Summary: **Scarlett had always been warned of a violent and murdering wolf that lived in the very same woods that she travelled through each day on her way back to her Granny's house, but she had never imagined that one day she would come face to face with the beast. Age old stories of interactions with the fated big bad wolf had taught her to be scared of the creature and what it could do to young girls like her, but a soft look of pain in the eyes of her unwilling attacker made the young girl wonder if there was more to the old tales of the big bad wolf than anyone could ever figure.  
><strong>Pairings are Emma x Graham, and Mary Margaret x David, but mostly Ruby x OC.<strong>

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters affiliated.  
><strong>Rating is PG-13 for language, violence and a little sexuality.<strong>

**Authors Note: **I would like to personally thank the two people that have put this story on alert, KuroAkuma and Dorney77. It was really awesome knowing that people liked it so much. Anyone else out there reading this, feel free to alert it or even drop a line. I take compliments, criticisms and suggestions to heart and would love to know how I can make the story better for you guys. I also apologise for taking another week to get this out there, that is horrible of me. I'll try harder for next chapter.  
><strong>Spoilers include most canon plot points up until 1x07 "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter."<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>At the Police Station.<strong>

The station seemed to be deserted despite the fact that there were two people inside. No drunken shouts were being hurled at the sheriff and deputy, nobody had come in to report any recent crimes and the only two cops in Storybrooke weren't arguing about who was right and wrong like they usually did.

In fact, Graham wasn't in the station at all. He had left a few minutes after Emma came in, not before dumping a pile of work on her desk and asking her to finish up his filing. That made Emma fume.

She knew exactly why he had left, it was either because of how awkward things had gotten between them after she found out where he had been "volunteering" or because he was off to do it again. And why should she have to do his busy work because he was too busy with her sons adopted mother?

Emma had to refrain from cursing out loud about that last bit. The last thing Henry needed to know about the world was what Regina did behind closed doors with the busy sheriff.

Besides, he looked so peaceful.

Sure there was a little frown on his face as he tried to figure out the answer to his next math problem, but compared to the worried look he got whenever he dealt with parts of his fairytale delusion, the frown was a look of bliss. Plus, she'd never admit it to him, but that frown was too cute to deny.

Staring at his immense concentration for another moment to fill that motherly void in her heart from the day they hadn't been able to spend alone together, she quickly snapped back to her own work when she could feel him looking up from his homework. She couldn't let him catch her staring.

"Emma?" Henry whispered just softly as he looked at the computer screen from his spot on her desk.

Not looking up from the file in front of her, just in case he did see her staring, she answered. "Yeah?"

"Are you trying to find a criminal?" Emma tried hard not to laugh at the innocent way he asked that, she could tell he was trying not to get excited over the idea of having to help her catch a bad guy.

Emma almost wanted to nod her head, involve him in some sort of small case, maybe about one of the nightly drunk citizens. Several things stopped her though. Henry was still young and innocent, no matter how much he wanted to be thrown into the investigator life, she wouldn't taint him. Not willingly.

"Not right now, kid."

He set his work down and hopped off the desk, moving over to her side for a glimpse at her computer screen. "What are you doing then?" His eyes scanned the screen a moment before they caught a name.

"I'm just checking out someone and their files, nothing big really." She lied unconvincingly.

Unsurprisingly Henry didn't believe her and moved closer to the screen, his eyes scanning over the paragraph where he had seen the name. Within moments he stopped in surprise, his mouth hanging wide open and a confused look formed on his face. "Why are you checking Lyra's files out?"

His fear was etched out right on his face, Emma understood though. He had known the blonde his entire life and seeing something that could threaten her sent a red flag up for him. That made Emma proud.

"Don't worry, I just want information." At the lack of his relief, Emma tried to explain a little better to her son, after all things would go a lot easier with his help. "You said she was the wolf, right?"

Henry's expression softened and he nodded his head.

"Do you want to know their story?" He smiled putting away his pencil case and pushed up onto her desk again, this time beside the computer screen so he could see her. "I know most of it, they told me."

Emma put away the file she had on Lyra and exited out of her page on the computer, she knew he was only ten but it sure was easier hearing the story from him then trying to look it up online and in print.

"Alright kid, hit me. Just what is it that's between them?"

Henry had to think hard for just a moment, not about what was in between the two because that part was pretty obvious, but of where he should start for his Mom to get the full story of Lyra and Ruby. "Well... they're madly in love. But they aren't supposed to be."

Emma wanted to challenge him on that. She knew that there was something going on, especially if the blonde girl was supposed to be the Wolf in Henry's story book fantasy, but she had hoped that it didn't have to do with forbidden teenage love. She had enough of that over the years herself. Emma hated involving herself with personal lives too, especially the personal lives of people that she did not know.

But like everything else about Storybrooke, Emma knew that once she had gotten involved in the issue, she wasn't going to be getting uninvolved very easily. "Not supposed to because of the fairytale?"

At the shake of his head, she knew that this wasn't going to be easy.

"In the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf do end up together, because of that is why Ruby and Lyra are in love here..." Henry started to trail off slowly with a troubled expression on his face and that is where Emma figured that everything must have took a turn for the worse.

"... But?" Emma nudged him with her shoulder gently.

Henry shook his head quickly and went back to his backpack, gathering up his books like he was ready to go home. "I shouldn't have said anything..." He mumbled and Emma did a double take.

"You were more than happy to tell me a minute ago kid, what happened?" She had never seen him more spooked in his life and following the trail of his eyes to the mayor who was standing in the doorway, she knew exactly why he was scared. "Hello Madame Mayor." Emma commented coldly.

This time the mayor didn't even acknowledge Emma with more than a glance to her direction, all of her focus was on a worried looking Henry. "So I heard Lyra stepped in town, and now I find you gossiping about her history with Miss. Swan... I can only imagine that all this is because you spoke with her today."

Henry nodded, grabbing his jacket from Emma's desk. It was all the older blonde could do to not reach out and pull her terrified son to her chest away from his adopted Mother.

"I thought I told you I didn't want you near her again..." All Henry could do was nod again, but that wasn't good enough for the cold-hearted mayor. "Henry, I asked you a question." She demanded.

"I don't see what the big deal is about!" Emma got to her feet and moved to Henry's side sick of the tone of voice Regina was using towards her kid. "All we did is have lunch with her."

Regina frowned and glared back at Emma. "So he hasn't told you the full story yet, has he?"

"He was about to before you cut him o-"

Regina smiled an almost malicious sort of smile as she interrupted Emma mid-sentence. "As you are the deputy, I find it necessary for you to know that beneath the innocent demeanour she has shown you..."

Henry practically begged Regina to stop talking, but the older woman continued on with her sentence just to spite him for disobeying her wishes. "Lies something much darker."

"Lyra Travers is a coldblooded killer and everyone in Storybrooke, including my son, knows it."

* * *

><p>Yes, including another cliffhanger into a story without even revealing the ending of the first one, it has been done folks. I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter, even though it was supposed to solve some answers but in the end didn't really solve anything or have a real point. But I wanted to include some EmmaHenry love.

**Tune into next chapter, where one of the cliffhangers will actually be solved!**


	4. Inside the Beast

**Little Red Ruby Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.**

**Summary: **Scarlett had always been warned of a violent and murdering wolf that lived in the very same woods that she travelled through each day on her way back to her Granny's house, but she had never imagined that one day she would come face to face with the beast. Age old stories of interactions with the fated big bad wolf had taught her to be scared of the creature and what it could do to young girls like her, but a soft look of pain in the eyes of her unwilling attacker made the young girl wonder if there was more to the old tales of the big bad wolf than anyone could ever figure.  
><strong>Pairings are Emma x Graham, and Mary Margaret x David, but mostly Ruby x OC.<strong>

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters affiliated.  
><strong>Rating is PG-13 for language, violence and a little sexuality.<strong>

**Authors Note: **Okay, hopefully this chapter ends up a little longer than the last one did. I promised that I was going to solve one of the cliffhangers and I fully intend too. So here is another scene from the fairy tale world which will involve more than a few of my favourite characters, I hope you enjoy. I would also like to extend a special shout out to RleFay for being the third person to alert and favourite the story, also for being the first reviewer. It's people like you that make me want to keep writing. For everyone else, feel free to leave a review or anything to let me know if you like or hate the story.  
><strong>Spoilers include most canon plot points up until 1x07 "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" for the chapters that take place in Storybrooke, any of the Fairytale moments are canon up until the most recent episode which is 1x11 "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" just because I like the Snow WhiteRed Riding Hood thing and all that stemmed from seeing Snow White at all ages of her life.**

* * *

><p>"<em>Whimpering just slightly as a final growl escaped its throat, Scarlett feebly held her hands up trying to protect herself from its teeth and claws as the wolf made up its mind, hunched back and pounced."<em>

**Back inside the Enchanted Forest.**

A scream broke out from Scarlett's throat as the wolf piled into her with full force, still struggling to get away from it, the two of them fell to the forest floor in a heap.

It wasn't until she painfully inhaled that she realised, it's claws and teeth weren't ripping into her thin throat or tearing her to shreds. Rather, it was slumped against her, pinning her to the ground with such a force that she found it a task to breathe in for more than a few seconds.

Her eyes fluttered open and close, her head had hit the back of the tree and she felt like her mind was getting ready to explode from the lack of oxygen and overload of stimulation.

That's when she heard it.

"Red!" A familiar shout shattered the not-so-peaceful silence. The accompanied yelps sounded much more panicky as she heard the clap of boots come closer to her head, just before she lost consciousness, a figure emerged beside her. "Get that thing off of her!" Then a pause as her eyes drooped. "NOW!"

As the wolf was hauled off of her chest, she felt the breathe return to her lungs, a little too quickly.

"Slow down... Slow Red, you don't want to hurt yourself." Scarlett blinked her eyes a few times as her old friend came into her blurred vision, the older woman looked a little more roughed up but she was definitely still Snow White. Condescending sisterly tone and all. "Just breathe a little at a time."

As Scarlett felt her ability to breathe properly return, she sat up slowly and blinked the vision of three little men tossing the wolf off to one side of the forest into focus. "I'm not five Snow," Jutting her bottom lip out and pouting until Snow reached a hand down to her, Scarlett continued accusatorily.

"However, you might be!" Scarlett tried to glare as she was helped to her feet. "Going out to the castle to find your extremely attractive man, then not coming back to tell me how that went!" This time she succeeded at the glare as her voice was laced with worry. "I thought you could have been in trouble."

"But I wasn't." Snow White smirked as she took the liberty of dusting her friend off.

Scarlett threw up her hands in exasperation. "How was I supposed to know that? You could have been killed, or gotten lost in the woods, or been kidnapped by seven little men!" She stared pointedly.

"I'm too good at what I do to get killed, I get less lost in the woods than you do and their names are Grumpy, Doc, Happy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful and Dopey. Their dwarves... not little men."

Scarlett looked over once again to make sure that they weren't listening before whispering to Snow cruelly. "I don't care about Meanie, Dentist, Cheerful, Sicky, Tired, Shy and Dumbpole!"

Snow just stared and tried not to laugh as she corrected her friend again, by now it had become less of the ex-princess trying to reassure her friend and more of Snow White just teasing the girl. "You might want to show more respect to Grumpy, Doc, Dopey and the others, they did just save your life Red."

"I was worried."

It was then that the older one moved back into her protective phase. "I'm sorry, Scar." The older woman pressed the younger against her chest and gave her a tight hug to ward off any worry that she endured.

"Snow, you know how guilty I feel when you call me that."

Pulling back from the girl she had come to call her sister over the years, she nodded and mumbled a soft spoken. "I forgot Red..." Her old nickname for the girl, it felt much better on the lips than the teenager's real name, it sounded much better to the ear too. It denoted a feeling of closeness between the two.

As the dwarves returned to the girls, Snow tightened her grip on Scarlett and moved closer to her. She could feel something was wrong from their unnatural expressions, though she had only been with them for a day or so, she had quickly picked up on the looks that they gave to each other.

"Snow, you're going to want to see this." Grumpy spoke before the other two had a chance to divulge.

Dopey who was the youngest and not the smartest of the bunch looked at Scarlett and motioned for her to come to. "You might want to look as we-" He was cut short by Grumpy with a sharp painful jab to the stomach from his elbow. Looking over at Snow who was clearly protective of the girl, Dopey understood.

Unfortunately, Scarlett had already heard him and been intrigued. "What's the matter..." She trailed off inquisitively as she glanced the way that they had come. Before Snow even had a chance to tell Scarlett to stay back, the girl had took off quickly for where they had left the presumably dead wolf.

Coming into the clearly, she skidded to a stop with a gasp. In place of where she was certain they had left the wolf that tried to attack her, was an unconscious naked young woman with a thick arrow protruding out of her chest.

"What... I don't understand." Scarlett babbled as Snow and the dwarves came up behind her, Snow's only reaction was a mirror to the younger girls. "She was a wolf a few minutes ago, you saw that!"

"Grumpy..." The dwarf moved closer. "What happened here, do you know?"

The three dwarves exchanged equal looks of confusion before Doc tried to answer the question, despite not knowing the exact answer. "We think it may be a shifter."

"A shifter?"

Doc nodded his head. "They are supposed to be a myth, but they are notorious for shifting their bodies into wolves and other violent creatures... They're killers and not safe to be around."

Before Doc could say another word Scarlett moved in towards the crumpled girl on the ground and kneeled down beside her. "Is she dead?" She asked softly, moving some hair out of the girls face.

"Not yet."

"But we can take care of that." Grumpy said as he slipped another arrow into his bow and aimed it on the girl once more, this time at her head. "You may want to move kid."

Scarlett looked up at Grumpy pulling back on his arrow and immediately found herself covering the girl up with her arms as a short scream pierced the air. "NO!" She kept her arms tightly wrapped around her previous attacker in a feeble attempt to keep her safe from the dwarf's arrows. "You can't kill her!"

Pushing her hand out to stop the bow from centering back on Scarlett and the seriously injured girl, Snow White stepped forward and kneeled down beside her closest friend. "She tried to kill you, Red..."

"How do we know it was on purpose?" The two girls exchanged looks. "Besides, she's helpless now."

The look that Snow White saw in Scarlett's eyes was the reason she backed out of telling her everything about how dangerous her decision was and how she couldn't let her take it. There was almost a look of pathetic need that washed through her friends eyes and she knew the young girl needed this.

"If things don't go right, what are you going to do?"

Scarlett turned her head back to the injured girl and pulled a stick off of the ground to shove it into the girl's mouth before answering. "Then I'll deal with it accordingly if it happens." She wrapped her fingers around the arrow's shaft tightly as she pulled back softly, the arrow not moving much with her force.

"Until then, I'm going to keep her safe." She timed herself quickly as she yanked back on the arrow and felt it come out with a jolt as a groan escaped the girl's lips. "It's my second chance, Snow."

"It won't fix what happened to your Father." Snow chastised softly as she leaned back down having ripped her sleeve off, using it to press down on the seeping wound, she looked back at her friend with a pitiful look. "But if it is what you want to do, who am I to say no."

Scarlett nodded as she took the cloth from the older girl and continued to press down. "It's what I need to do, if you had a chance to save someone from a snake bite... would you do it?" She tempted cruelly.

"That was unfair." The ebony-haired woman bit her lip in thought of protest but found that she couldn't answer anything but the answer that the hooded girl was seeking. "Yes, I would..."

Looking back at the three dwarves that were waiting for her, all with various disapproving faces mixed upon them, Snow stood back up slowly. "However, the rest is yours to do alone, I've helped you as much as I can. I may have been able to stop these three from harming her, that I think asking them to help you bring her to your Grandmother's cottage may be a bit much. I hope you understand."

Scarlett barely did more than wave her hand before Snow and the three dwarves headed off in the opposite direction, just after Snow pressed a brief kiss to her forehead. She knew it was for the best though, as her Grandmother would always say, and Scarlett had a feeling that she would be hearing quite a lot from the old woman after tonight... she had buttered her bread and now she had to lie in it.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe from whatever is inside you, I promise." She muttered softly as she brushed back the last and final strands of light blonde hair obstructing the view of her possible new friend. "Something as beautiful as you could not be as evil as that thing was."

* * *

><p>Well, that was it. The end of the first cliffhanger and quite a bit late, which I do apologise for... I had a bit of trouble trying to write it and in the end I may have done horribly but it's out and I'm glad for that. I will try to get a bit more done since I have a few days of free time but I am through promising new chapters in shorter amounts of time as I always feel guilty after I cannot deliver.<p>

**I hope everyone returns to see part five of "Little Red Ruby Hood and the Big Bad Wolf."**


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